Kioko, Jonathan Muli2026-02-232026-02-232025-11https://ir-library.ku.ac.ke/handle/123456789/32543A Research Project Submitted in Partial Fulfilment of the Requirements for the Award of the Degree of Masters in Education (Educational Psychology) in the School of Education and Lifelong Learning of Kenyatta University, November 2025. Supervisor 1. James Ndege OluochIn today’s global world, proficiency in English is key, not only, in communication in the globalized world, but also, has been linked to success in other disciplines for being the language of instruction. Despite the primacy of English language performance among learners in Makueni county has been, specifically poor, when compared to other disciplines and performance against other regions. Further, little is there to show the psychological and contextual variables around English language performance in the locale. From the foregoing, the current study sought to investigate the relationship between task value and teacher autonomy support with English language performance. Further, the study aimed to establish if there were gender differences in task value and teacher autonomy. Lastly, the prediction of English language performance from the two variables was investigated. The study was guided by the Cognitive Evaluation Theory (Wigfield & Eccles, 2000) and the Expectancy-Value Theory (Ryan & Deci, 1985). A descriptive correlational design was adopted for the study. The target population comprised 4098 form two students from the 48 public secondary schools in the Makueni sub-county. The study locale, the Makueni sub-county, were purposively selected whilst stratified random sampling was employed in selecting participating schools from the different school types. Lastly, simple random sampling was employed to select 412 students from the 16 selected schools. A prior pilot study involving 50 randomly selected students was used to assess the validity, reliability, and feasibility of logistical assumptions. The Self and Task Perception Questionnaire and the Teacher Support Scale as well as end-of-term examination results were used to measure the respective variables. The Statistical Package for Social Sciences Version 25 was used in the analysis of data where descriptive statistics and inferential testing using the Pearson’s Product Moment Correlation and multiple regression will be conducted. Findings show that there was a significant positive relationship between both task value (r (404) = .25, p < .01) and teacher autonomy support (r (404) = .27, p < .01) and English language performance. Further, significant gender differences were established in both task value, t (404) = -2.43, p < .05, and teacher autonomy support, t (404) = -1.35, p > .01 with girls significantly posting better scores in both variables. Lastly task value and teacher autonomy support significantly predicted English language performance, F (2,403) = 18.34, p <.001. Of the two, teacher autonomy support (β = .19, p < .01) was comparatively a better predictor of English language performance as compared to task value (β = .13, p < .05). The study's insights advocate for teaching practices and approaches that support autonomy of the learners while acknowledging the need for creating a sense of value in the educational tasks amongst learners. Further, the study offers insights into the need for gender-specific approaches in the creation of a sense of value in educational tasks among students.enThesis